Whalesong
by Zanza8
Summary: Grace Under Pressure from the whale's point of view. I highly recommend rewatching the episode before reading this.


He arrowed towards the surface, his powerful tail beating the water harder and harder, then he broke into the sunlight, droplets scattering rainbows as he soared through the air. He plunged back into the water and headed straight down, determined to fly even higher next time. He loved being on his own like this. His people never strayed far from the pod. They were so huge only the very sick or the very old were ever lost to predators, but they still found reassurance in the constant company and none of them comprehended his desire for solitude. He knew they feared for his safety when he went off like this, for it was not unheard of for a youngster who strayed too far from the others to be lost, but he was never afraid. He was almost deep enough now. Any minute and he would turn and start up again and…

The sensation hit him so hard for a moment he was completely disoriented. What was it? His heart was pounding so hard and fast it was hurting him and his whole body felt strange, hot and cold at the same time. He spun in the water, falling deeper as he tried to still his trembling body, then hung there, drifting aimlessly as he tried to calm himself. Was this fear? Was this how his people felt? Had it always been there, beneath the surface, waiting to strike? His tail swung a few times, moving him forward, and the familiar rush of water past his body calmed him. Whatever the strange feeling was, it was passing.

Then it hit again, worse than before, and he wondered vaguely if he was dying. He had seen death. The old ones, the ones who became sick and didn't recover, they went still and dropped gently out of sight. Was this how they felt just before they died? His head weaved from side to side, struggling to find a way out of the pain, then a shrill sound exploded in his head.

 _"Why would you do that?"_

It was a voice, but not like any voice he had ever heard before. His people spoke with far different sounds, communicating information and feeling in measured cadences. This was far different. Somehow he could tell that the creature was not speaking to any purpose. It was just making noise, but it was hurting and he pushed back at the unsettling feelings the voice evoked and swam towards it. It continued to speak, but the words made no sense. _"I need to heat this thing and I don't want it to cost me a lot of power. Can we at least do that? Please?...You want to freeze me to death, you lemon?...Let's make a deal."_

These last words were followed by the strangest sound of all, something like the chuckling sound made by the small fish that could not breathe under the water but had to return to the surface for air. He had seen them on the pod's migrations, far from this place in the warmer water. They leaped in the air as he did, but he had also seen them stand on their tails and move on the surface. This sound was not really like their sounds, though. It was filled with fear and he sent a message back, hoping to reassure the creature.

 _"It's the transmitter. It must be broadcasting at a frequency you can hear."_

The creature seemed calmer and he sent another wave of sound. _"Whoa there, fella. Maybe you could go for help?"_ He sensed a request but could not process it and the creature became afraid again. _"Okay, if you're not gonna help, then just swim on by!"_

He fell silent then, all his efforts to communicate stonewalled. Was there nothing he could do? He could see the creature now. It was shaped like a stone, falling helplessly through the water as if it had forgotten how to swim, and his desire to help was overwhelming, but what could he do? He swam cautiously closer.

 _"I need a new set of eyes."_

There! Finally, something he could work with. The creature wanted help so strongly that its mind opened and he reached in, merging their thoughts. "Let me take a look."

The words were meaningless, created by the creature in its own language, but he felt something more than fear now. It was still frightened, but whatever image it had conjured up to go with his words was helping it. He swam gently around in circles as it continued to fall. It was perplexing. How could it not know how to swim? Perhaps it was sick. When one of his people fell sick, the others held the ailing one up, taking turns until recovery or death. Perhaps this one had strayed from its pod. In that case, others would come. He could do nothing here, but he was reluctant to leave. Whatever small comfort he was able to provide with his mind, he would continue to provide for as long as he could.

Time passed, the creature's mind interacting with his, a kaleidoscope of emotions racing by. Annoyance, confusion, relief, hope, anger, even fury, they swirled in his mind as the creature struggled to stay alive. Finally it hit the bottom and just lay there. Was it dying? He could feel the life still in it. And the fear that had never gone away and was now even worse than before. He had a strong desire to swim away. If the pod hadn't found its missing member by now, it probably never would. He swung back and forth, indecisive, thinking about his own pod. He had never been away for so long before. Was it fair to make them worry, all for a creature that was going to die anyway?

It was becoming irrational, no longer attempting to communicate. Death must be very near, and he hesitated, then started very slowly to swim away. It saddened him to think of the creature dying all alone, and he circled around it a last time. Light glowed from it, then died away, and he felt something new coming from it. Its hope was gone. It was giving up. It was very calm now, its words as incomprehensible as ever but its feelings were of kindness and respect for whatever image its mind had created, and he decided to stay with it to the end.

Another light penetrated the depths, and he saw a member of the creature's pod approaching. This one was obviously healthy, a strong light coming out of its head and a bubble surrounding it. He circled the sick one again and again and again, and the healthy creature touched down next to the sick one. He backed off, curious. What would it do?

What happened next was so strange he wondered if the creature's mind had affected his own. It seemed to him that the bubble around the healthy one wrapped around the sick one, then it opened and smaller creatures came out. They touched the sick creature and opened it, pulling out another small one and taking it back to the healthy one. It must have been part of the waking dream that he shared with the sick creature, and soon enough, it died, laying quietly on the ocean's bottom. Strangely, he sensed happiness from the healthy one. Perhaps these creatures feared dying alone and his efforts in bringing one of the pod to comfort the sick one in its final moments had been a greater help than he could ever know. He came up, taking care not to get too close, for he was much larger, and swam over, sending a final message of greeting and farewell as the creature lifted off the bottom and went on its way.


End file.
